Textile apparatus and changeable gear transmission therein



March 3, 1910 Filed Jan. 29, 1968 S. W. KUNDRACH TEXTILE APPARATUS AND CHANGEABLE GEAR TRANSMISSION THEREIN O o L m F IE.|

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTUR STEVEN w KUNDRHEH BY I ('7 AfT OZNEY March 3, \1970 s. w. KUNDRACH 3,498,149

TEXTILE AEPARATUS AND CHANGEABLE GEAR TRANSMISSION THEREIN Filed Jan. 29, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W u k e INVENTUR I STEVEN W. KUNDRHEH MYWMM A TTORNE' Y 5. W. KUNDRACH TEXTILE APPARATUS AND CHANGE-ABLE GEAR.

March 3, 197 0 wmsmrssron' THEREIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 29, 1968 STEVEN W. KLINURHEH BY- AfiOENfY-f United States Patent O The Warner & Swasey Company, Cleveland, Ohio, 21

corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 701,283 Int. Cl. F16h 3/08, 3/34 US. Cl. 74--325 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An intermediate gear in the transmission, which meshes with the changeable gear for the output draft rolls of a gill box, is carried by a holder that may be turned by a manually-operated handle located outside the casing so as to position the intermediate gear in or out of engagement with the changeable gear before and after changing it. An indicator arm, which is visible through a window on a cover of the transmission casing, is coupled to the holder to designate which changeable gear is in use and the corresponding draft produced by the draft rolls, in accordance with the angular position of the holder with the intermediate gear in mesh with the changeable gear.

This invention relates to a textile apparatus and to a changeable speed gear transmission embodied therein.

In the processing of textile sliver, a known technique employs a gill box having faller bars which comb the sliver as it is advanced through the gill box. A set of draft rolls located at the inlet end of the gill box advances the sliver into the gill box at the same speed as the movement of the faller bars. A set of draft rolls at the outlet end of the gill box is operated at a higher speed, so that the sliver is drafted between the faller bars and these outlet draft rolls. The output draft rolls are driven through a gear transmission from an electric motor operating at a constant speed.

The present invention relates to a gear transmission arrangement which enables the operator of the textile apparatus to selectively change the speed of the output draft rolls, for a given constant motor speed, in a convenient and effective manner. In the present invention an intermediate gear in the transmission may be moved selectively between an operating position, in which it engages the changeable gear, and a retracted position, in which it is disengaged from the changeable gear, by operating a handle located at the outside of the casing for the gear transmission. The present invention also has a novel indicator arrangement for indicating visually to the operator which changeable gear is then in use in the gear transmission and the draft produced by the output draft rolls when this particular changeable gear is in use.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved gear transmission having a novel arrangement for facilitating changing gears in the transmission to change its output speed.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a transmission which is provided with a novel indicator arrangement for indicating in a positive fashion which of the changeable gears is in use in the transmission.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a transmission having a novel arrangement for selectively disengaging and engaging the changeable gear in the transmission by a mechanism which is manually operated 3,498 ,149 Patented Mar. 3, .1970

from outside the transmission casing, thereby facilitating the substitution of the changeable gear.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved speed-change arrangement in a gear transmission for the output draft rolls of a gill box, so that the draft may be changed selectively in a more convenient manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide on such a textile apparatus an arrangement for indicating the draft provided by the gear transmission in a novel and improved manner which is determined by the position of one of the gears in the transmission, according to the size of the changeable gear then in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide on such a textile apparatus a novel and improved arrangement for disengaging certain of the gears in the transmission preparatory to changing the changeable gear and for reengaging these gears after the substitution of the changeable gear has been made.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently-preferred embodiment thereof, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective front view of a textile apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 illustrates in longitudinal section the present gear transmission for driving the output draft rolls of the FIG. 1 apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-section through this transmission, taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 44 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the front of the transmission casing; and

FIGURE 6 shows in enlarged detail a portion of the window on the front of the casing where the draft indicator appears.

The textile apparatus which embodies the present invention comprises a gill box 10 (FIG. 1) of known construction, having faller bars for combing sliver as it is pulled through the gill box from left to right in FIG. 1. At the delivery or outlet end of the gill box are located upper and lower draft rolls 11 and 12, which define a nip between them, and a smaller draft roll (which does not appear in FIG. 1) which defines a nip with the upper draft roll 11, only, ahead of the nip between the rolls :11 and 12. These draft rolls at the outlet end of the gill box are driven at a peripheral speed greater than the speed of the faller bars, so that the sliver is drafted between the faller bars and the outlet draft rolls as it is advanced through the gill box. After passing between the outlet draft rolls the sliver goes into a coiling head 13 and from there into a container drum 14.

The smaller outlet draft roll (which does not appear in FIG. 1) is designated in FIG. 2 by the reference numeral 15. The lower outlet-draft roll 12 is driven through gearing, to be described, from an electric motor and it drives the smaller outlet draft roll 15 through a gear 16 on roll 12 which drives a gear 17 on roll 15 in the same direction through a pinion 16a. The upper draft roll 11 (FIG. 1) is rotatably supported by suitable antifriction hearings to be driven from the lower draft roll 12 by virtue of the pressurized engagement of the sliver S between them, as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the gear drive to the lower draft roll 12 includes a driving gear 18, an intermediate gear 19 meshing with the driving gear, and a driven gear 20 meshing with the intermediate gear 19 for imparting rotation to the lower draft roll 12. These three gears 18-20 are shown in phantom in FIG. 4. In order to change the speed of the lower draft roll 12 (and to change the speed of the upper draft roll 11 and the smaller draft roll 15, also), the driven gear 20 is removably mounted on the shaft 21 (FIG. 2) to which the lower draft roll 12 is attached, so that the driven gear 20 may be detached manually and replaced by a larger or smaller driven gear, as explained hereinafter.

The driving gear 18 is attached to a rotary shaft 22 (FIG. 2) which also carries an input gear 23 driven from the motor. The shaft 22 is rotatably supported approximately mid-way along its length by a suitable anti-friction bearing 22a. This bearing is supported by a flanged annular support member 24 which isbolted to a fixedly positioned casing 25 enclosing the gears 18, 19 and 20. The left end of the shaft 22 in FIG. 2 is rotatably supported by an anti-friction bearing 26 carried by an annular end plate 27 which is bolted to the casing 25.

The annular support member 24 and the annular end plate 27 provide radially outwardly-facing, cylindrical bearing surfaces 2 8 and 29, respectively, for a pivotally adjustable holder 30 for the intermediate gear 19. These bearing surfaces are concentrically arranged about the rotational axis of shaft 22 and driving gear 23 as a center. The intermediate gear 19 is rotatably supported on the holder 30 by an anti-friction bearing 31, which is mounted on a sleeve 32 carried by the holder 30. This sleeve 32 snugly encircles a pin 33. The conjoint axes of the pin 33 and the intermediate gear 19 extend parallel to the rotational axis of the driving gear 18 and parallel to the rotational axis of the driven gear 20. A plate 35 is bolted to the inside of the fixed casing 25 immediately to the right of the holder 30 in FIG. 2. This plate has an arcuate slot 34 which is concentric about the axis of the driving gear 18. The pin 33 on the holder 30 is slidably received in this slot, so that when the holder 30 is turned about this axis the pin 33 on the holder moves arcuately along slot 34. When the holder 30 is turned in this manner, the intermediate gear 19 revolves bodily about the axis of the driving gear 18 and remains in meshing engagement with the driving gear.

The pin 33 is screw-threaded at its inner (right) end in FIG. 2 (at the opposite side of the plate 35 from the holder 30) and it carries a nut 36 there which bears against the back of the plate 35 behind the arcuate slot 34 in the latter. The opposite end of pin 33 has an enlarged head 37, and a spring washer 38 is engaged between this head and the adjacent end of the sleeve 32 carried by the holder 30. With this arrangement when the driven gear 20 is to be replaced by a larger or smaller gear, after the driven gear is removed from the shaft 21 the pin 33 may be turned in a direction to release the nut 36 from clamping engagement with the plate 35 and then the holder 30 may be turned about the axis of drive gear 18, with the guide pin 33 sliding along the arcuate slot 34 in plate 35 a suflicient distance to permit the replacement gear 20 to be attached to shaft 21. Then the holder 30 may be turned in the opposite direction until the intermediate gear 19 which it carries is brought into meshing engagement with the driven gear 20 now attached to shaft 21, at which time the guide pin 33 may be turned in the direction to cause the nut 36 to be clamped tightly against the back of the fixed plate 35, thereby locking the holder 30 in this rotational position about the axis of the driving gear 18. It will be evident that throughout such angular adjustments of the holder 30, its guide pin 33 remains in the arcuate slot 34 and the intermediate gear 19 which it carries remains in meshing engagement with the driving gear 18.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driven gear 20 is splined to shaft 21 at the latters left end and it is releasably clamped thereon by a clamping assembly which includes a bolt 40, spr g wa h rs 41 and a flat washer 42. With this ar- 4 rangement, the driven gear 20 may be removed from the shaft 21 and replaced by a larger or smaller gear to ,change the speed ratio between the input shaft 22 and the driven shaft 21.

In order to provide ready access to the driven gear 20 when such substitution is to be made, the casing 25 1s provided with a hinged cover door 43 located dir ctly opposite the head 37 on pin 33 and the clamping bolt 40 for the driven gear 20. This cover door is provided with a hinge 44 at its right end in FIG. 1 and it has a latch (not shown) which is operated by a handle 45. When this handle is operated to release the latch, the door may be swung forward in FIG. 1 about its hinge 44 to provide direct access to the driven gear 20 which is to be replaced and to the clamping pin 33 for the holder 30 which carries the intermediate gear 19.

Immediately below its handle 45 the cover door 43 is formed with an arcuate slot 46 (FIGS. 2 and 5), which is covered by a transparent window 47.

In accordance with the present invention a novel indicator arrangement is provided for designating which of the changeable output gears 20 is being used and the draft which will be provided when this gear is used. In the preferred embodiment this arrangement comprises an indicator arm or pointer 48 (FIG. 2) having its free end 49 positioned in the arcuate slot 46 in the cover plate directly behind the window 47. This pointer is mounted on a hub 50 attached to a shaft 51 which is rotatably supported from the casing 25 by suitable antifriction bearings, which have been omitted from the drawing for the sake of simplicity. Shaft 51 extends parallel to the input drive shaft 22. A small gear 52, which is rigidly attached to shaft 51, meshes with a gear sector 53 formed on the pivoted holder 30 for the intermediate gear 19. This gear sector 53 presents a series of successive gear teeth extending arcuately about the axis of the driving gear 18 as a center.

With this arrangement, for every rotation or angular position of the holder 30 (which depends upon the size of the driven gear 20- then attached to the shaft 21 of draft roll 12), the pointer 48 will have a corresponding angular or rotational position and its free end will have a corresponding position along the arcuate slot 46.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the window 47 which covers the slot 46 is provided with successive indicia along its length which identify the different driven gears 20 and the corresponding values of the draft which the dilferentsized gears 20 will provide for a given speed of the motor which drives the input gear 23. The gear-identifying indicia are located along the smaller radius arcuate side of the slot 46 and the draft-designating indicia are located along the larger radius arcuate side of this slot, and the free end 49 of the indicator arm or pointer 48 passes between these indicia. With this arrangement, for any given rotational or angular position of the holder 30 corresponding to a particular size of the driven gear 20', the free end segment 49 of the pointer will identify the driven gear in accordance with its size and it will designate the corresponding draft produced by the draft rolls for a predetermined constant motor speed.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the angular or rotational adjustment of the holder 30 is effected by turning a control member having a handle 54 located outside the casing 25, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This handle is attached to a shaft 55 (-FIG. 3) which is rotatably mounted in anti-friction sleeve bearings 56 and 57 carried by the casing. At its inner end, shaft 55 carries a worm gear 58 which is in I 62 and 63, which are driven through respective sets of bevel gears 64, 65 and 66, 67 from the cross shaft 60, to comb the sliver as it is advanced through the gill box.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the illustrated embodiment of the present invention provides a. positive indication of the draft produced by the output uraft rolls, as a function of the size of the particular output gear 20' then in use. Also, this embodiment enables the changeable output gear to be selectively engaged or disengaged by the intermediate gear 19 by operating a handle located outside the casing of the gear transmission, thereby facilitating the substitution of the changeable gear. In addition, the pivoted cover door for the transmission casing enables quick access to its interior when the changeable gear is to be replaced.

While a presently-preferred embodiment of this invention has been described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that various structural modifications, omissions and refinements which depart from the disclosed embodiment may be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a textile apparatus having a set of draft rolls for pulling sliver through a gill box, a shaft connected to one of said draft rolls, a driven gear, means for detachably connecting said driven gear to said shaft for selective replacement by a different-sized driven gear, an intermediate gear, a holder carrying said intermediate gear and mounted for angular adjustment to position said intermediate gear for meshing engagement selectively with different-sized driven gears, said holder having a series of gear teeth thereon extending arcuately about its axis of rotation, indicator means coupled to said holder and operable in accordance with the latters angular position to indicate the draft for the size of driven gear corresponding to the angular position of the holder, said indicator means including a pivoted indicator member having indicia associated therewith for indicating the draft corresponding to a particular size of driven gear, and gear means coupling said indicator member to said gear teeth on the holder for causing said indicator member to be turned to a position corresponding to the angular position of the holder, a stationary casing enclosing said gears, a cover hinged to said casing to permit access to the interior of the casing for replacement of the driven gear, and a transparent window on said cover extending opposite said pivoted indicator member throughout the latters range of pivotal movement and carrying said indicia for indicating from the pivoted indicator members position the draft corresponding to the rotational position of said holder for the intermediate gear.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a pin carried by said holder and rotatably supporting said inter-mediate gear, a plate fixedly positioned within the casing at one axial side of said holder and said intermediate gear, said plate having a slot therein extending arcuately about the rotational axis of the holder and slidably receiving said pin, and a nut threadedly engaging said pin at the opposite side of said plate from the holder and the intermediate gear for releasably clamping the holder in its adjusted angular position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising means operable from outside the casing for selectively adjusting the angular position of said holder.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said means for adjusting the position of said holder comprises a manually-operable control member in meshing engagement with said gear teeth on said holder and having an operating handle located outside said casing.

5. In a textile apparatus having a set of draft rolls for pulling sliver through a gill box, a shaft connected to one of said draft rolls, a driven gear, means for detachably connecting said driven gear to said shaft for selective replacement by a different-sized driven gear, an intermediate gear, a holder carrying said intermediate gear and mounted for angular adjustment to position said intermediate gear for meshing engagement selectively with diiferent-sized driven gears,'said holder having a gear sector thereon extending arcuately about the rotational axis of the holder as a center, a casing enclosing said holder and gears, a rotatable control member meshing with said gear sector and having an operating handle located outside said casing for selectively adjusting the angular position of the holder, indicator means coupled to said holder and operable in accordance with the latters angular position to indicate the draft for the size of driven gear corresponding to that angular position of the holder, said indicator means including a pivot indicator member, a gear connected to said indicator member and meshing with said gear sector on the holder for causing said indicator member to be turned to an angular position corresponding to the angular position of the holder, a cover pivotally mounted on said casing and extending directly opposite said driven gear and movable pivotally away from the latter to permit access to the interior of the casing for replacement of the driven gear connected to said shaft, said cover having a transparent window carrying indicia disposed in succession arcuately along the path of angular movement of said indicator member to indicate the draft corresponding to each angular setting of the holder.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, and further comprising a pin carried by said holder and rotatably supporting said intermediate gear, a plate fixedly positioned within the casing at the opposite axial side of the holder and the intermediate gear from said pivoted cover, said plate having a slot therein extending arcuately about the rotational axis of the holder and slidably receiving said pin, and a nut threadedly engaging said pin at the opposite side of said plate from the holder and the intermediate gear for releasably clamping said holder in its adjusted angular position.

7. In a textile apparatus having a set of draft rolls for pulling sliver through a gill box, a shaft connected to one of said draft rolls, a driven gear, means for detachably connecting said driven gear to said shaft for selective replacement by a different-sized driven gear, an intermediate gear, a holder carrying said intermediate gear and mounted for angular adjustment to position said intermediate gear for meshing engagement selectively with different-sized driven gears, said holder having a series of gear teeth thereon disposed arcuately about its axis of rotation, indicator means coupled to said holder and operable in accordance with the latters angular position to indicate the draft for the size of driven gear corresponding to that angular position of the holder, said indicator means including a pivoted indicator member and gear means coupling said indicator member to said gear teeth on the holder for causing said indicator member to be turned to a position corresponding to the angular position of the holder, means for providing indicia associated with said indicator member for indicating the draft corresponding to the angular setting of said holder for a particular size of driven gear, a casing enclosing said holder and said gears, and means operable from outside the casing for selectively adjusting the angular position of said holder, said means for adjusting the position of said holder comprises a manually-operable control member spaced apart from said indicator member and disposed in meshing engagement with said gear teeth on said holder, said manually operable control member having an operating handle located outside said casing.

'8. Apparatus according to claim 7, and further comprising a cover hinged to said casing to permit access to the interior of the casing for replacement of the driven gear, and a transparent window on said cover extending opposite said pivoted indicator member throughout the latters range of pivotal movement and carrying said indicia for indicating the draft corresponding to the angular setting References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 486,048 10/1953 Italy.

378,638 7/1964 Switzerland.

5 DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner Johnson 74354 wigglesworth at al- 74 354 X T, C. PERRY, Assistant Examiner Marsden 74325 X Wait 74 325 X US. Cl. X.R. Armitage et a1. 74325 X 10 74354; 116115.5

Cummings 74354 

